Mohamed Salah Can Continue To Score For Liverpool This Season – Here’s Why

Caption: Can Salah keep putting those goals away this season?

Mohamed Salah has been making huge progress in the Premier League. He moved from Roma at the start of last season and, given that he scored 15 league goals for the Italian side, Liverpool fans had high expectations for what he could deliver at Anfield. Yet no one could expect that Salah would take the Golden Boot and Player of the Year after a stunning first season at the club, or that he would become the first player ever to score 32 goals in 38 league games.

Even when opposing teams were fully aware of the threat, they simply could not stop Salah. He went on to take more shots and more touches in the opposition box during the second half of the season, and put away 17 out of his 32 goals after Christmas. He was constantly making his impact at Liverpool and causing other teams to crumble along the way.

Sceptics believe that Salah won’t be able to repeat the performance again this year. They think that the pressure will get to him. But the numbers tell a different story. Salah can continue to score goals this season, and help Liverpool to extend their start in the Premier League betting tips. Liverpool are one the only teams who are expected to challenge Manchester City this season, and Salah is at the forefront of their title race.

Here’s why:

Photo: Official LFC Twitter page

Shot Volume

Salah is a master at putting himself in dangerous positions for nearly the full 90 minutes that he is on the pitch. He is a constant threat, and as a result, he manages to find the space to shoot. He does this a lot. Salah took 144 shots last season, and he took more chances inside the penalty box than any other player. Harry Kane had 184 shots last season, but many of these were from outside of the box, resulting in a lower shot quality and fewer goals.

Salah actually misses quite a lot of chances. He missed a total of 23 ‘big chances’ last year, such as close-range shots and 1-v-1 finishes. Yet his conversion rate is nearly identical to Aguero’s. What this shows is that Salah finds himself with more opportunity to score than any other player. His positioning and rapid diagonal runs are the key to his success, allowing him to accumulate a very high volume of good quality shots.

He’s Already Scoring!

If there was any doubt as to whether Salah could score again this season, surely they have been put to rest during his early performances for the side. Salah scored against Manchester City during the opening moments of their pre-season friendly clash, and has also scored two league goals in his first three games this season.

The first goal was against West Ham. Salah failed to put one away at Crystal Palace, despite making a positive impact on the game, but he did score against Brighton, with the goal proving to be the only difference between the two sides. Salah has already taken 16 shots during these games, as well as missing 3 big chances. The stats so far mean that Salah once again has the highest expected goal tally this season.

Photo: Flynet – SplashNews

Klopp’s Setup

Caption: Liverpool were already looking strong last year, but they have an even better squad this season!

Jurgen Klopp has started the season playing a variation of the 4-5-1 setup, with Sadio and Firminho tucking into an aggressive midfield position, and Salah acting as a kind of wide striker, and the true attacking force of the team. Positional data from the Brighton game shows that he is indeed the most advanced player on the pitch for Liverpool.

Whereas nearly everyone else on the team drops back, Salah often stays forward, awaiting an opportunity to counter-attack. He is supported by an excellent team, including new arrivals like Naby Keita, whose skill in midfield has already lead to a scoring opportunity for Salah against Crystal Palace, though he eventually chipped the ball over the bar.

This is the best Liverpool team the world has seen for a long time, and Salah will find himself on the end of plenty of clever balls and tactful setups. Even if Salah only scores half of the goals he did last season, he will find himself on a respectable total in line with the likes of Lukaku. If he performs as he is expected to, then Salah is likely to score 25+ goals once again.

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